Chapter 9 Business Law

Negligence

Behavior that creates an unreasonable risk of harm to others

Unfortunate accident

an incident that simply could not be avoided, even with reasonable care

What four elements must a plaintiff prove?

duty, breach of duty, causation, damages

Duty

the standard of care a reasonable person owes another

Example of a duty

stopping at a red traffic light

Breach of duty

failure to live up to the standard of care

Example of a breach of duty

running a red light with your car

Actual cause

the determination that the defendant's breach of duty resulted directly in the plaintiff's injury

Actual cause is also called

cause in fact

Actual cause example

If you had not run the red light, the pedestrian would not have been hit

Proximate cause

the extent to which, as a matter of policy the defendant will be held liable for the consequences of his or her actions

Proximate cause is also called

legal cause

Proximate cause example

If you run a red light and hit a car, causing it to swerve and hit a pedestrian nearby, it's reasonably foreseeable that your action could result in someone being hurt

Damages

a compensable loss suffered by the plaintiff

Reasonable person standard

a measurement of the way members of society expect an individual to act in a given situation

Four questions of reasonable person standard

How likely was it that the harm would occur?

How serious was the harm?

How socially beneficial was the defendant's conduct that posed the risk of harm?

What costs would have been necessary to reduce the risk of harm?

Courts hold businesses to have a ________ to protect their customers aagainst foreseeable risks about which the owner knew or should have known

duty of care

Compensatory damages

money awarded to a plaintiff as reimbursement for her or his losses; based on the amount of actual damage or harm to property, lsot wages or profits, pain and suffering, medical expenses, diability, etc.

Example of compensatory damages

A construction company carelessly leaves tools and debris scattered on the sidewalk. John trips, breaks his arm, and has to go to the hospital. He misses six weeks of work and has to hire someone to help around the house while he recovers.

In court, John is awarded money to cover his issues.

Punitive damages

compensation awarded to a plaintiff that goes beyond reimbursement for actual losses and is imposed to punish the defendant and deter such conduct in the future

Example of punitive damages

A drunk driver who causes a crash may have to pay extra money, beyond the victim's medical bills and repairs, to punish their reckless behavior

Gross negligence

an act committed with extreme reckless disregard for the property or life of another person

Example of gross negligence

A daycare worker leaves toddlers alone by a swimming pool and goes inside to take a nap

Two doctrines to aid plaintiffs if direct evidence of negligence by the defendant is not available

res ipsa loquitur and negligence per se

res ipsa loquitur

a doctrine that allows a judge or jury to infer that, more likely than not, the defendant's negligence was the cause of the plaintiff's harm even though there is no direct evidence of the defendant's lack of due care

To use res ipsa loquitur, a plaintiff must demonstrate

event was a kind that usually does not occur in the absence of negligence

third party conduct has been eliminated

indicated negligence is within the scope of the defendant's duty to the plaintiff

Example of res ipsa loquitur

A patient goes in for surgery on their stomach, but when they wake up, they discover a surgical sponge was left inside their body

Negligence per se

a doctrine that allows a judge or jury to infer duty and breach of duty from the fact that a defendant violated a statute that was designed to prevent the type of harm that the plaintiff incurred

Example of negligence per se

John drives through a red light and hits Mary's car, injuring her. The red light was made to stop accidents like this from happening

Dram shop act

a regulation under which abrtenders can be held liable for injuries caused by individuals who become intoxicated in their bars

Example of dram shop act

A bar can be held responsible if it serves alcohol to an obviously drunk customer who then causes a car accident

Contributory negligence

a defense to negligence whereby the defendant can escape all liability by proving that the plaintiff failed to act in a way that would have protected him or her from an unreasonable risk of harm and that the plaintiff's negligent behavior contributed in some way to the plaintiff's accident

Example of contributory negligence

A pedestrian jaywalks across a busy street and is hit by a car. Even if the driver was slightly speeding, the pedestrian's own carelessness reduces or eliminates their ability to recover damages

Last clear chance doctrine

if the court finds that the plaintiff's conduct fell below the standard of care needed to prevent unreasonable risk of harm and the plaintiff's failure was a contributing cause of the plaintiff's injury, the defendant will not be liable for the plaintiff's injuries unless the plaintiff can prove that the defendant had the last opportunity to avoid the accident

Example of last clear chance doctrine

Even though a pedestrian jaywalked, the driver can still be liable because they saw the pedestrian in time to stop but didn't

Pure comparative negligence

a defense accepted in some states whereby the defendant is not liable for the percentage of harm that he or she can prove can be attributed to the plaintiff's own negligence

Example of pure comparative negligence

If a pedestrian is 30% at fault for jaywalking and the driver is 70% at fault for speeding, the pedestrian can recover 70% of their total damages

Modified comparative negligence

a defense whereby the defendant is not liable for the percentage of harm that he or she proves can be attributed to the plaintiff's own negligence if the plaintiff's negligence is responsible for less than 50% of the harm

Example of modified comparative negligence

If a pedestrian is 40% at fault for jaywalking and a driver is 60% at fault for speeding, the pedestrian can recover 60% of their damages, but if the pedestrian were 51% at fault, they would recover nothing

Assumption of the risk

a defense whereby the defendant must prove that the plaintiff voluntarily assumed the risk that the defendant caused

Example of assumption of the risk

A person goes to a baseball game and sits in a section where foul balls frequently fly into the stands. If they get hit by a foul ball, they can't usually sue the stadium because they knew the risk and voluntarily accepted it

Express assumption of the risk

occurs when the plaintiff expressly agrees to assume the risk posed by the defendant's behavior

Example of express assumption of the risk

Before going skydiving, a participant signs a waiver stating that they understand the dangers and agree not to hold the company liable for injuries

Implied assumption of the risk

the plaintiff implicitly assumed a known risk

Implied assumption of the risk example

A person joins a pickup basketball game at a gym, and if they get accidentally elbowed, they usually can't sue because they knew the normal risks of playing

Good Samartian statutes

a statute that exempts from liability a person, such as a physician passerby, who voluntarily renders aid to an injured person but negligently, but not unreasonably negligently, causes injury while rendering the aid

Example of Good Samaritan statute

A bystander sees someone choking and performs CPR, but accidentally injures the person's ribs. The law protects the bystander from being sued for ordinary negligence while trying to help

Superseding cause

allow the defendant to avoid liabiility because they are evidence that the defendant's breahc of duty was not the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injuries

Example of superseding cause

A driver runs a red light and injures someone, but while the injured person is in the hospital, a natural gas explosion occurs and kills them; the explosion is an unforeseeable event that breaks the chain of causation, so the driver isn’t liable for the death

Strict liability

liability in which responsibility for damages is imposed regardless of the existence of negligence

Example of strict liability

A company keeps wild animals like lions for a zoo. If a lion escapes and injures someone, the company can be held liable even if they took every precaution, because keeping wild animals is inherently dangerous

According to the Uniform Commercial Code, if the seller breaches the contract, the compensatory damages are calculated as